AG Weather Impacts

AG Weather Impacts

Wow, can you believe it? For the past several weeks, temperatures have waffled between slightly above and slightly below normal. Well starting today and through Sunday, we are looking a string of 6 days in a row with above normal temperatures. Thursday and Friday should be the warmest at 6 to 8 degrees above normal, but should not threaten blooming canola. Look for a cold front to bring some scattered showers late Friday and Saturday, but rainfall amounts will be mainly less than a quarter inch in the Columbia Basin and just a third to half inch in the Palouse region south to Lewiston and Walla Walla, so planting delays should be minimal. Another cold front on Monday will drop temperatures back to close to normal for much of next week. You can expect the warmer conditions this week though should to really help spur germination and early development of spring grains, row crops and vegetables. Looking at two inch soil temperatures, they currently range between 55 and 60 on most farms, except upper 40s and lower 50s above 1000 feet elevation. We should see soil temperatures rise into the mid 50s to mid 60s by Friday and then drop back into mainly the 50s early next week. Good spraying conditions will continue into Thursday, but then increasing winds are likely along with a chance for washoff when the weather pattern becomes more active over the weekend.
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